A Festive Flight Into the World’s Happiest Holidays and Celebrations

WASHINGTON (Dec. 11, 2013)—National Geographic and Rovio Entertainment invite readers to join the Angry Birds as they journey around the world to experience each month’s greatest holidays, festivals and celebrations. The official companion to the Angry Birds Seasons game, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ANGRY BIRDS SEASONS: A Festive Flight into the World’s Happiest Holidays and Celebrations (National Geographic Books; ISBN: 978-1-4262-1181-2; Jan. 7, 2014; $13.95 paperback), by Amy Briggs, shares cultural traditions across the globe with fascinating facts, images and Angry Birds humor.

From the Chinese New Year in Beijing in January to the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in March in Alaska to Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls in July to the Bahamas’ colorful Junkanoo Festival in December, the lovable Angry Birds characters hop the continents in search of the most festive occasions throughout the year. National Geographic photographs accompany the text, and “Festive Facts” and “Holidata” give the book a distinctive style that is unique to National Geographic and Rovio’s publishing partnership.

Alongside their favorite avian characters, readers will learn about cultural traditions in a variety of countries and the rituals and customs that go along with celebrating the most popular annual festivals and holidays. Each of the book’s 12 chapters shares a month’s worth of celebrations, some well-known like Valentine’s Day, Cinco de Mayo and Halloween, others less so, like Festa Junina in Brazil or the Aomori Nebuta festival in Japan.

Fly with the Angry Birds to Cape May, N.J., for the annual World Series of Birding in May; join the world’s largest food fight at La Tomatina in Bunol, Spain, a late-August celebration where 40,000-plus revelers pelt one another with 220,000 pounds of tomatoes; learn about September’s Gerewol festival, a beauty pageant among the men of the Wodaabe people of Niger, judged by their womenfolk; and fire up a pumpkin launcher in Bridgeville, Del., for the November Punkin Chunkin festival where teams use intricate contraptions to toss pumpkins. (The record toss is 4,438 feet — just 800 feet short of a mile.) Across the world and throughout the United States, these events reflect cultures and customs old, new and quirky.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICANGRY BIRDS SEASONS is the fifth book in the ongoing collaboration between National Geographic — one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations — and Rovio Entertainment — an industry-changing entertainment media company with a broader mission to make learning fun. The previous books in the series are “National Geographic Angry Birds Star Wars,” “National Geographic Angry Birds Furious Forces!”, “National Geographic Angry Birds” and “National Geographic Angry Birds Space.”

About the Author:

Amy Briggs, writer and Angry Birds addict, specializes in books on space, animals and weird facts about the world. She lives in Arlington, Va., with her husband and daughter, who are very understanding about her Angry Birds habit.

About National Geographic Books

National Geographic Books is a global publisher of 125 new books annually in Adult and Children’s combined, as well as a publisher of digital content and services with more than 50 partners who translate our books. The National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” the Society’s mission is to inspire people to care about the planet. It reaches more than 500 million people worldwide each month through its official journal, National Geographic, and other magazines; National Geographic Channel; television documentaries; books; films; DVDs; maps; live events; radio; school publishing programs; interactive media; merchandise; and travel programs. For more information on National Geographic Books, visit facebook.com/NatGeoBooks and nationalgeographic.com/books.

About Rovio Entertainment Ltd.

Rovio Entertainment Ltd is a global industry-changing entertainment media company headquartered in Finland, and the creator of the globally successful Angry Birds™ characters franchise. Angry Birds, a casual puzzle game, became an international phenomenon within a few months of its release. Angry Birds has expanded rapidly into multifaceted entertainment, publishing, and licensing to become a beloved international brand. Rovio’s animated Angry Birds feature film is slated for July 1, 2016. www.rovio.com